Recent lead testing of soil across Broken Hill in far west New South Wales has found decades-old abatement strategies are working, but some areas in the city need to be remediated again for community safety.

The team from the University of Sydney have investigated the effectiveness of remediation programs by comparing lead concentrations of soil from up to 20 years ago.

The study was commissioned by the Broken Hill Environmental Lead Program, which was given five years worth of funding last year to try and reduce blood lead levels in the community.

The research team took 115 soil samples from various remediated areas in about 40 backyards and vacant blocks of land across the city.

Associate professor Stephen Cattle said overall the research found a reduction of lead contamination in soil compared to decades ago.

But Mr Cattle said half of the soil samples reached the health investigation levels for residential areas.

"The soil lead, although it's still less than it was 20 years ago, it has crept up over 300 [milligrams of lead per kilogram]," Mr Cattle said.

He said the reason was largely because the surfaces of remediated areas had worn away.

"Whether it's humans or whether it's ants or whether it's erosion — something has made the capping material less effective than it used to be," Mr Cattle said.

"As soon as you lose your capping material from your remediation then that same lead rich material is at the surface ready to be eroded or blown around again."

Some residents unaware of ongoing lead management

The research found some land close to the city's iconic mullock dump, the Line of Lode, had higher lead concentrations in the soil than other areas.

"There always has been a big store of lead in the soil and rocks in those locations, [and] there still is," Mr Cattle said.

"As you would expect either side of the Line of Lode but in particular bare areas like near Block 10 and Eyre Street is where I would say the main hotspots are."

Mr Cattle said another observation was that several residents were not aware that lead management on properties needs to be ongoing.

"Not everyone has the same awareness or interest in remediation and I think it's probably a good thing if people do," Mr Cattle said.

"One of the things that the Broken Hill Environmental Lead Program will probably do is to make the community more aware of the finite lifespan of these remediation programs.

"The need to be vigilant about your own property and the remediation that's there to see that it's still in tact and doing its job."

Mr Cattle said the research would also give the Lead Program a better understanding of what areas need to be prioritised for future abatement.

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